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Baby's Dry Skin

Hi,

I am quite worried on my baby's dry skin. At first I thought it was only because of sunburn that she got when we had an outdoor swimming a couple of weeks ago. But days have passed but still her skin appears scaly and dry. I have applied lotion and creams on a regular basis to keep the smoothness of her skin. Is this a form of skin asthma? Considering that we have a history in our family. Or just dry skin caused by the environmental changes?

Is the dry skin in one particularly part of your baby's body? It could be eczema (which looks like dry, scaly, thickened skin) - if you are concerned it is this you could check with your doctor. About 20% of children under 5 have suffered from eczema.

For babies with eczema or dry skin, daily bathing is often too frequent (as this dries out the skin). So you could cut back on her baths (to, say, 2-3 times a week) until her skin is less dry. It's also important to moisturise you baby's skin after a bath. My health visitor advised using olive oil! Emollients are often recommended for children with eczema as they 'lock in' the skin's moisture. You can also make sure you are only using natural cleaning products on your baby's skin - fragranced products (wipes, shampoos etc) are best avoided. Often just plain water is the best.

Dry skin can be aggravated by changing in the temperature as well as indoor heating and chemical products.

I hope this helps - please post back and let us know how you are getting on.

LJ has give you some excellent information. If you are breastfeeding your baby, you'll want to be sure that you are getting enough vitamin C and Essential Fatty Acids in your diet. These things can greatly benefit dry skin and/or eczema and she will get them through your milk.

Post back how old your daughter is, whether she is breastfeeding, whether she is eating any baby food/solids, and where you are noticing the dryness on her skin (all over, or just certain areas). I'll try to give suggestions for how to get those good Essential Fatty acids into your baby.